1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is for a system for removing wire straps from a bale, and more particularly, pertains to a system which mechanically cuts and removes the strapping from the bale, and further processes the wire or banding as a saleable scrap material. The system can be used whenever and wherever baled materials are used and processed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The baling of bulky materials is a common practice for their efficient handling, storage and transportation. These materials may include, but not be limited to recyclable materials such as waste paper, corrugated containers, plastic bottles or aluminum cans, as well as other products such as wood pulp, shavings, hay, solid waste, or any other non-cohesive bulk material. Baling is the densification of material in a compression chamber, and its containment by wrapping with strands of wire, steel bands or strapping ties. Usually several strands are required to contain each bale. At a factory, reclamation or processing facility where these products are used, it is necessary to remove the tie strands before processing. Most often the procedure is done manually with plier type wire cutters and the strapping removed and deposited into a receptacle by hand. Because the wire or banding is long, stiff and springy, it is difficult to control and dangerous to the workman handling it.
The most common method of dewiring baled materials is to approach each bale individually, manually cut the strands with a cutting pliers, grab by hand each wire strand and pull the wire from the bale. These strands often are rigid and/or springy wires or bands up to 24 feet in length, which are unwieldy and hazardous to handle. Sometimes the mass and/or dead weight of the baled material prevents a person from retrieving the wire or strapping which later may cause injury to other workmen or serious problems of product contamination or excessive wear and jamming of processing equipment.
The present invention provides a bale dewiring system which features automatic cutting and removal of a band, strap, or wire in a safe and efficient manner.